Fences are commonly used to define the borders of real property and other areas to be protected and to discourage intrusion into the enclosed areas. A wide variety of fences are, of course, well known in the art and typically include fence posts variously anchored in the ground at preselected intervals and either a series of rails or cables affixed to and extending horizontally between the fence posts. Alternatively, various configurations of wire, mesh or other substances are variously attached to and extend between the fence posts.
A primary drawback of the prior art fences is their lack of strength. They are designed only to discourage rather than to prevent intrusion and cannot, for example, withstand the strong impact of high-speed vehicular intrusion attempts. Additionally, even known prior art high-strength boundaries have typically focused on the material of which they are constructed for their strength and have not provided a high-strength cable and impact-resistant anchor means for maintaining the fence in a substantially vertical position after impact. Moreover, known prior art boundaries have not combined strength with an aesthetically pleasing and deceptive but typical-looking exterior fence design even though such a deceptive appearance is highly desirable in many security applications, such as at diplomatic embassies, etc.
Since it is desirable to prevent vehicular intrusions, particularly at locations such as secure government and military installations, it is an object of the present invention to provide unique means and apparatus for preventing penetration of a fence by an intruding vehicle.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide unique means and apparatus for anchoring and tensioning the high strength fence cables.
Additionally, to further enhance the invention's ability to stop vehicular intrusion attempts, a further object of the invention is to provide unique means and apparatus for supporting and anchoring the fence.
Another object of the present invention is to maintain an aesthetically pleasing and deceptive appearance by encasing the rail and buttress superstructures to give the fence the appearance of a more typical fence design, such as a wrought iron fence or a rural, usually wooden, post and rail fence.
Yet another object is to provide a high-strength security fence which is constructed of non-deteriorating materials, which will require little maintenance and which can be relatively easily adjusted and repaired on site.
It is another object to provide apparatus for the attachment of the impact resistant fence to an already existing chain link fence.
A further object is to provide a high-strength fence which is in part prefabricated and thus can be manufactured using a relatively inexpensive process.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent upon a consideration of the following drawings and a complete description thereof.